Hard-Headed Woman
We start ferrying Cantown residents into the vault; Earl and Idith build the bridge; Pon carries people across; Morrigan and Alder triage and manage the crowd; Mac gets vault systems online and functioning to prepare for influx of people * Earl and Idith search out survivors inside the town; Petra drives up in Miss Daisy and ferries the survivors out * Mudites emerge from underground and are taken aboard * Royal summit of Lord Davenfort, Duke of the Spokane Valley; King King Cobra, son of Great Chieftain King Cobra; goddess Diana of the Carved People; Queen Mother Kreis of the Rahowa Nation; Queen Morrigan of Freehaven; Foreman Dwayne Fogle, representative of the Skywalkers of the Mud Flats * The vault’s holotapes with security footage are missing * Diana brings Harold, Bob, and Jordan as advisors * Lady Kreis and Lord Davenfort already know each other * Lord Davenfort demands compensation for damage done to populace * The Skywalkers have the ability to heal the mud poison damage, but their resources are tied up in the wounded from their own population * Diana says she has the ability to remove the toxins in the Cantown mud through the plants and grow vegetation * The Carved People will retain sovereignty over vault and area below vault in exchange for Diana’s purification * The Skywalkers have the ability to generate a small amount of red mercury, a semi-mythical material that is purported to improve the functionality of any weapons it is added to; they also report that it exists in the lava fields of Soap Lake (territory of the Hot Heads) * We offer to retrieve red mercury from Soap Lake in exchange for Diana scouting out the area of vault 99, hazmat suits from the Skywalkers, transportation and temporary housing for 99 dwellers from King King Cobra and Davenfort, and promise of a future favor from Lady Kreis * The device from Diana’s tank is a protein printer that transforms amino acids into protein; Skywalkers recognized the device * Gaboon gives directions to Soap Lake: take 2 west then get on 28 * Earl convinces Jack to come along to keep an eye on Miss Daisy with the promise of supplies for his motel * On the edge of Soap Lake is a gated town with a large swath of healthy, well-maintained grass, surrounded by the ruins of a larger abandoned city * Guards from the town with flamethrowers guide us to the gate * Sizzlin’ Seamus from the guard contingent informs us that the grass is the lava field of Soap Lake, which they use for golf and are very protective of; there is an old faded sign that says, “Public Executive Golf Course Lava Links” * Gated town looks to hold ~150 people in houses bodged from previous structures (library, school, some military buildings) * We set up camp outside of gate * Two guards come out to create a fire by breaking a glass potion bottle on a wood pile, and Earl tells Morrigan to eat molten glass * Conflagration Carl comes through the gate with much fanfare and advises us that we have to carry a flame at all times in Soap Lake * The shore of Soap Lake has piles of bath-like bubbles from froth washed up on the water * Conflagration Carl leads us into the town hall, which has partially collapsed into the lake * Introduces lieutenants: Sizzlin’ Seamus, Arnold the Arsonist, Ultraviolet the Ultraviolent (the town’s primary mechanic), Magma Miranda (not present) * Carl thanks us for the party supplies (one crate of random drugs and alchohol) “to help keep the ferals in check” * We explain the Cantown disaster and suggest that the King Cobras need help or else they will encroach on other raiders’ territory looking for a new home; we are seeking components from Poseidon facilities for the sake of treating the Cantown citizens * Poseidon Energy was the largest (renewable and nonrenewable) energy company in the U.S. and possibly the world; in addition to their energy contracts, they also bought out and funded small research labs who made discoveries with potential military benefit * There is a cultural taboo against entering the hot spring unless one has earned the privilege; one method is winning a round of golf against someone who already has the privilege * Carl takes us behind the town hall to where the partially collapsed building has resulted in it becoming functionally a hot spring * The Hot Heads’ version of golf has two teams compete to get a mole rat into a hole (best of 5); no weapons are allowed upon pain of stabbing penalty * We play against the Hot Hot Heads * Round 1: we lose the coin toss; Earl and Miranda face off, with Miranda destroying Earl’s armor; Mack and Pon combine to accidentally murder a guy; Idith crosses to the Hot Hot Heads’ side to get the mole rat and throw it in the hole * Round 2: we win the coin toss, Idith drops the mole rat into the hole and gets attacked by the yaoguai inside * Round 3: Miranda, Seamus, and Ultraviolet (a.k.a. Sparky Sparky Boom Man) lead the team; Idith delivers Invisibility to Jack via Mavis, who takes the mole rat to the hole * We are granted access to the hot springs, which grant fast healing 3 * Idith analyzes Soap Lake: the foam is a result of the naturally occurring mineral and organic compounds of the water; the hot springs are fed with a mixture of lake water and a unique organic compound that combines with the water’s restorative qualities to create a healing effect beyond what should be naturally possible; there is a pipe leading into the lake with an electric charge flowing out